


Sister Sweet

by geneticallyemancipated



Category: Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
Genre: Angst, Drama, Female Friendship, Fluff, Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:33:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23023300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geneticallyemancipated/pseuds/geneticallyemancipated
Summary: Following the events of the Genetic Opera, a newly orphaned Shilo Wallace flees the building where the murder of her father and godmother took place. After a few days of being left to her own devices, she is found by Amber Sweet, who ends up becoming the new CEO of the most powerful company in the world, GeneCo. Shilo settles into the Largo household, while still under the fear of Amber's brothers Pavi and Luigi, and the two start to form a sister-like bond. Along with the promise to compensate for the pain her family has brought onto Shilo's, Amber strives to kick her addictions to surgeries and Zydrate and bring good to the GeneCo company to redeem the Largo family name. However, the friendship between Shilo and Amber is strained when Shilo becomes closer to Graverobber, who Amber sees as nothing but a shadow of her past.
Relationships: Amber Sweet & Shilo Wallace, GraveRobber/Shilo Wallace, Graverobber & Shilo Wallace
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Forgive me if the first few chapters aren't too great, I started writing this fic a few years ago. As I'm currently posting this here now, I'm hoping to update it again and rewrite the story a bit so it's a bit better. But I created this fic because I tend to write Amber as an antagonist (or Shilo at least seeing Amber as an enemy) so I decided why not try a universe where they're on friendly terms?

To Shilo Wallace, that night went by like a blur. So much to take in, and so little time. It all started when she was simply visiting her mother's grave, trying to catch a bug. She had a close call with a graverobber in the graveyard, nearly getting killed but was fortunately saved by a mysterious figure, then one thing lead to another. Secrets began to unfold. Big secrets.  
  
All her life, she believed she was ill. Ill with a rare but fatal blood disease that supposedly took the life of her mother as she was giving birth to her. Shilo's father, Nathan, one she had known to be a protective yet caring father, a skilled doctor, turned out to bear another face. A violent, murderous Repoman. At the Opera, it was revealed to her that her father was the one who made her sick with poisoned medication—the very pills she relied on her whole entire life believing they're the only thing that are keeping her alive were what was making her sick all along.  
  
Her mother, Marni, didn't die giving birth to her either. That was simply another lie of Nathan's. It turned out he killed her "by accident". With the lack of further detail on what lead up to it and how he let it happen, Shilo didn't know what exactly to believe. To add on more confusion, all of it came from the mouth of Rotti Largo, the now late founder and CEO of GeneCo. Knowing of his own nearing death, he offered to give Shilo the whole entire company after he died under one single condition—if she killed her father on stage for the world to watch. Of course, she refused, and Rotti did the deed himself.  
  
It was also revealed to her that Rotti and her mother had once dated, only for Marni to leave him for Nathan, breaking his heart. Rotti already has three children of his own; Luigi, Amber Sweet, and Pavi. Yet he had no desire to hand down the company to either of them, as he even went to insult and disown his own children on stage before he fell down dead.  
  
One thing Shilo kept on wondering about. Why exactly did he believe Shilo—someone not even in the Largo family bloodline—would be suitable for the inheritance and not his own children? Especially when she's the child of the one who broke his heart?  
  
  
  
Two days. It had been two days since the Genetic Opera, and with all the time to think she still had not a single clue. After exiting the opera building, covered in her own family's blood, she fled. Leaving the press and the audience with unanswered questions, as she has plenty of her own. She took refuge in a dark, gloomy alleyway somewhere far from the building and the eye of the public.  
  
She had no appetite or the will to sleep, and she didn't know how to find her way back home. If she were to go back home, she would now be living all on her own. As much as she had been yearning for independence and freedom for years now, she never expected such a price to pay. Her house would now be a lonely, silent tomb, decorated with grim reminders of what she had lost. Pictures and holograms of her mother, her father's medical equipment, and the posters of her beloved godmother and idol, Mag, hanging in her bedroom.  
  
More commonly known as Blind Mag, the now late voice of GeneCo, Mag was another person Shilo held dear to her heart. Even though she could only watch Mag sing on her TV, she admired Mag and wanted to be just like her growing up. Little did Shilo know, Mag was actually her godmother, though she didn't know Shilo was even alive until they met that night. In fact, Nathan told her Shilo died along with Marni when she was born. The night of the opera was when Mag was going to retire and perform her last show, and to retire meant having her eyes taken by a Repoman. She gouged out her own eyes in rebellion at the end of her performance, only to be murdered by Rotti. Out of all the casualties of the night, Mag definitely didn't deserve to be one of them. Even though Mag wasn't in her life like she should've been, Shilo would always keep her in her memory.  
  
Laying on the cold cement ground, Shilo stared up at the night horizon above her. All of the crying made her head ache and her eyes burn. Her belly rumbled, her eyes heavy with sleepiness, she even still had the blood covering her body, but she had no will to get up and go take care of herself. Secretly she wished she would starve to death or die of hypothermia due to the chilly nearing-winter weather. Whichever meant dying right on the spot.  
  
Being housebound all her life without any experience in the outside world, she didn't know how she was going to live a normal life. How she was going to pick herself back up without any support. No relatives or no friends to turn to. The only person she could ever possibly bear seeing again would probably be the Graverobber. But God knows where he is now. Chances are he wouldn't want to deal with a hungry, grieving young girl.  
  
Shilo perked up as she feels something wet on her arm. She glanced over to her sprawled out arm to see what it was before feeling another drip on her nose. Rain. More and more drops began to fall onto her right before it started to downpour.  
  
A few arm lengths away was a fair sized dumpster, one Shilo could hide herself from the rain in. She sat up, grabbed her boots resting nearby, and walked over to the dumpster. As she lifted up the lid of the dumpster, she heard the sound of a car driving down the street between the buildings in front of the alleyway. The car passed her, stopped, and reversed back over to the alleyway Shilo was hiding in. She didn't dare to look back. She heard the sound of a car door opening, an umbrella opening up, and then the tapping sound of high heels approaching her before she was sheltered with the umbrella.  
  
"Hey, you. Shilo, is it?" a somewhat familiar voice spoke. "What are you doing out here?"  
Shilo didn't answer, nor did she turn to face the person. The person, judging by her voice, she believed was Amber Sweet herself.  
  
"Well? Aren't you going to say something?" Amber said after a few moments of silence, she sighed with annoyance. "Come on, at least look at me."  
  
One more moment of hesitation before Shilo turned to face Amber. To her surprise, while being not surprised at the same time, Amber had a different look from the night of the Opera. Her hair was no longer black, but now a darkish red, and her eyes, now a tealish blue, stared into her soul. Intimidated by the Largo, Shilo still didn't say anything.  
  
"Look, I know you might be pissed with me. But I'm not leaving you out here on your own." That's when Shilo remembered Amber dissing Mag before the Opera, hoping she would get to take Mag's place as the voice of GeneCo after she received a "visit" from the Repoman. Shilo couldn't deny she was irritated at Amber saying such a thing about Mag. However, was Amber even aware of Mag's relation to Shilo? Most likely she believed it was simply because she was directly related to the man that murdered her father.  
  
"I'm sorry, okay," Amber continued with a groan. "I shouldn't have been such a bitch. But for fuck's sakes, I didn't think it was going to go down like how it did. Not like that."  
  
Shilo set her gaze down, and closed her eyes as the tears began to fall for the hundredth time that day. She clutched the bloodied boots in her hands tightly. Amber sighed, this time not as harshly, and guided a weeping Shilo over to the limousine. She opened the door to allow Shilo to enter the car first while she closed the umbrella. She then joined the crying girl inside.  
  
Shilo sat at the end of the seat, curled up into a ball with her face buried in her knees, still sobbing. Amber watched her from the other end of the seat.  
  
"Do you have anywhere to go? _Anyone_ to go to?" Amber asked. Shilo paused her crying before going right back to it. In realization, Amber's expression turned to a look of pity. "Oh God, are you _really all_ alone now?"  
  
Shilo stopped once again, and this time nodded in reply. A slight wave of relief rippled through Amber. The kid is finally communicating. She thought for a moment.  
  
"Tell you what," she scooted over slightly closer to Shilo but made sure to keep a distance from her. "We'll go to my house," by house she meant mansion, "and you can stay with us for a while."  
_Us!?_ Shilo's face rose from her knees and stared right at Amber, her expression showing great fear.  
  
"Oh, don't worry about my brothers. I won't let them harm you. I think they want to kill _me_ more than anyone else in this world anyway." Without saying anything in reply, Shilo shoots Amber a confused look.  
  
"You're not up to speed, are you?" Amber let out a slight, sheepish chuckle and glanced down modestly. "After everything happened, I stepped up to the plate and took my place as the new president of GeneCo. Pretty funny, huh? You'd expect it to be Luigi or Pavi, they'd kill for the position. But I think they would run the company—if not the world—into the ground even further. Whereas I have plans to try to make everything better for everyone."  
  
Shilo simply blinked at her.  
  
"For one," Amber looked back up with a smirk, pointing one finger up. "I auctioned off my fallen face for charity. You probably weren't there to see it, but something in my plastic surgery fucked up and my face literally fell off. Right on stage." Shilo couldn't help but let out a small chuckle with that image, trying to hide it behind her hand. Amber smiled knowing she was finally beginning to get onto Shilo's good side— somewhat. She sighed and rolled her eyes with a smile.  
  
"Yeah, it was pretty... _humiliating_ and all, but let this be a lesson for you, girl. No plastic surgery before performances. You got that?" The Largo said jokingly, pointing at Shilo, who giggled once more.  
  
"But yeah, my dad was pretty fucking awful." Amber rested herself against the seat and gazed forward. "Don't know why it took me until now to realize that. But you know... he was my dad."  
  
"I... I can't help but sort of share the same sentiment," Shilo finally spoke up, her voice heavily faltering due to crying. "My dad might have been caring and all when I was 'sick', b-but he made me live a lie and he poisoned me. Despite everything, though, I can't help but... but still love him."  
  
Amber smiled again. "What do you know? She actually talks. Must be nice to have someone that understands what you're going through, huh?"  
  
Shilo paused and nodded . "...Yeah."  
  
Amber nodded back. "Your father might have been awful, too, but not as bad as mine. So I'm going to give you my condolences for your loss anyway."  
  
"And Mag," Shilo added. "Mag was my godmother." Amber's eyes went wide upon hearing that.  
  
"...No shit?" Amber asked, genuinely stunned, Shilo nodded. Amber covered her face with her gloved hands in shame. "Oh god, now I feel ten times shittier for what I said."  
  
"It's fine, don't worry about it. I didn't know about it either until later. And thanks. I'm... sorry for your loss, too."  
  
"Oh, don't be. We both know you aren't," Amber lowered her hands from her face and rested her elbows on her knees. "It's more like 'good riddance'. He probably would've done something awful to you too if he was still alive."  
  
Shilo stared at Amber blankly. "Like what?"  
  
"I dunno, but considering how evil he was it wouldn't be pretty." The limo made an abrupt stop.  
  
"Well, looks like we're finally here." Amber took a glance out the tinted window before she opened the car door.  
  
"What should I do first when we get inside?" Shilo asked.

"Uh, shower obviously, you're not staying in my place covered in all that blood!" Amber paused. "When was the last time you ate something?" As if it was right on cue, Shilo's stomach growled furiously. "It's a good thing we are just in time for dinner, then."  
  
Amber ducked and slipped out of the limo before opening up the umbrella. Shilo slid on her boots and exited the limo behind Amber. The rain was hitting even harder than it was before. She caught an eyeful of the large, beautiful Largo mansion in front of them.  
  
"Shilo," Amber said, Shilo meeting her gaze when she spoke. "Welcome to the Largo residence."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: In my Repo! verses, the minimum legal drinking age in Sanitarium is 19 years. Just a bit of important info for this part.

If Shilo was told whilst living her old isolated life she'd soon be orphaned and living with the Largos, the most powerful family in the world, she would've brushed that off as complete nonsense. No matter how hard she tried to believe it—as much as she didn't want to—it was truly happening.  
  
She at least didn't mind Amber as much, considering she's the one who picked her off the streets and is the one showing her hospitality. The Largo boys on the other hand, the thought of living with those two sent shivers down Shilo's spine. Luigi assisted his father in physically harming Shilo's father by slicing him in the leg, and Pavi was just plain creepy—wearing a woman's face over his and his unsolicited touchy feely behavior. The most unforgivable part was when the both of them cheered along with Rotti and the audience for Shilo to kill her father. Since she has arrived to the Largo residence she has yet to actually see the Largo boys in the flesh since the Opera. Amber did mention it was nearly time for dinner to be served, which means the brothers will probably be joining them. She dreaded that the most out of anything. It's likely Amber didn't even tell her brothers they were going to be having a guest.  
  
  
  
Shilo prepared for a shower in a large, marble white bathroom. Her long jet black wig and short silky black dress, both covered in blood, rested next to her communicator bracelet and prized cameo necklace on the bright, clean countertop. The boots, socks, and fishnets on the floor in front of the sink. She gazed at herself in the mirror, at the dried blood covering her body. The reminder of the price she had to pay for her own freedom.  
  
With a turn of the faucet, fresh water falls from the shower head above. Shilo carefully stepped inside, closing the shower curtains behind her. She stood still under the rushing warmth. Down at her feet, the brownish red mixed water traveled on the clean white floor of the shower and into the drain. She picked up a fresh bar of soap and scrubbed her body thoroughly to rid herself of the dried blood. After she finished cleaning herself, she sat down onto the floor of the shower and went back into the same fetal position from earlier, with the hot water beating against her back.  
  
Why am I even here? Why has it come to this? Where did I go wrong...? Shilo sniffed. Right now she should be at home, waiting for her father to get home from work. She should be watching Mag sing on television in her own bedroom and remembering to take her medications once again. She should be dreaming for the day her father finds a cure and they begin building a happier life together. Even if reality had eventually showed its ugly side in that case, Shilo couldn't help but still feel sorrowful.  
  
 _Dad... I'm so sorry. I miss you. I miss you so much. Please come save me from this. I'm sorry..._ Only if this was either a dream, or he would come knocking at the front door of the Largos to collect his daughter and bring her back home, and she'd never have to see them or any other stranger ever again.  
  
After her shower, Shilo put on the clothes Amber gave her before she was sent off to shower. How and why Amber had clothes in Shilo's specific size was truly anyone's guess, but they didn't look too much different from what she usually wore. A black shirt with poofy short sleeves, a long, frilly black skirt, dark grey tights and black high heeled boots that bore an eerie amount of resemblance to her other pair. She finished her new outfit with her own personal touches, her communicator bracelet and her special cameo necklace.  
  
Shilo spotted her wig on the counter and realized something, it's covered in blood and still needed washing. She didn't have the time to clean it herself, and Amber had yet to even know Shilo's hair was just a wig this whole entire time. She tied a towel around her bald head before exiting the bathroom, carrying her wig bundled in her bloodied clothes. Earlier before being sent off to clean herself, Amber showed Shilo the room she was going to be staying in. A fairly sized bedroom that was most likely used a guest room before. Best part was that it wasn't too much of a distance from the bathroom she was just in. She reached for the handle to enter her new bedroom.  
  
"I see you're finally out of the shower. Took you long enough," Shilo jumped slightly at the unexpected sound of Amber's voice. "And you're wearing the clothes I gave you! They fit you just fine, yes? Don't worry about returning them. They're old and they no longer fit me. No need to thank me."  
  
"Um, that's nice," Shilo said before hesitating. "...But there's something I need to tell you."  
  
Amber's expression turned blank. "I'm listening." After glancing back and forth to make sure nobody else was around, Shilo jerked her head a few times towards the door, her gesture suggesting that this was to be told in private. Amber nodded in understanding and the two enter Shilo's new bedroom. Shilo waited for the door to be closed before speaking again.  
  
"It's about my hair," she raised her hand to the towel. "My hair... is really a wig. I lost my actual hair when I started taking the medication long ago." She glanced down from Amber's gaze and took off the towel to reveal her bald head. She scrunched her eyes shut as she anticipated Amber's response. _Oh god, please don't laugh at me..._  
  
Except Amber did laugh. Not mockingly, but more with amusement than anything. "Honey," she said, still chuckling slightly. "You're talking to someone who's had more hair, body, _and_ face changes than you could ever imagine. I don't think I have a reason to judge someone who lost her hair from being poisoned when I change my hair for the hell of it." Shilo let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Um, so what about my wig?" she asked sheepishly as she pulled the bloodied wig out of the bundle to show Amber. "It's clumped with blood and I don't want to go out there without any hair."  
Amber smiled. "I think we can fix this. Come with me."  
  
———————————————————————————————

"Sit here and give me a sec." Shilo was sat down in front of a vanity mirror as Amber wandered off into a large closet. In the reflection of the glass Shilo could see Amber's large bedroom, she used the reflection to scan her surroundings. It was much larger and more decorated than Shilo's comparably plain guest bedroom. Besides all the expensive furniture, she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.  
  
Then she spotted it. Sitting on a nightstand next to her bed were nearly empty little glass vials of... what was it? That drug. A euphoric, highly addictive opioid. GeneCo offered a safer, but more expensive version of the drug, to which desperate junkies would buy the street drug for cheap from graverobbers, which extract the drug from the dead. Amber was known for taking street drug despite being more than rich enough for the safer, authentic version. What was the name of it?  
Zydrate.  
  
What Shilo was most stumped about was that it had been a few days since the Opera. With Amber determined to fix GeneCo, it would be expected she'd work to try to rid herself of her addiction. Were these old hits that she took before the events of the opera and she just had yet to clean it up? Or was she still addicted? That's when Shilo put the pieces together, Amber had a different look from the two nights before when she was found by her. Different hair, different eyes, different face. Though along with her new physical came with a different, more compassionate attitude.  
  
"How about this? Kinda looks like your old one, doesn't it?" She watched Amber approach the vanity with a black colored wig from the reflection. The only difference between that one and her own was that the new one was shorter and had a messy wave to it. Shilo removed the towel from her head yet again for Amber to place the wig on her head. Shilo inspected and felt the new hair on her head. "Here let me fix this."  
  
Amber picked up a brush and began to softly brush the wig. When she stopped, Shilo took a look in the mirror at the neater, softer looking hair before stroking it cautiously.  
  
"You can wear this one for now, just until yours gets cleaned." Amber explained. She looked in the mirror and rested her head on top of Shilo's, smiling. Shilo remained awkwardly still. "Huh, I should've given you the one with bangs. Then we would be twins!"  
  
Shilo didn't say anything in response, but she knew exactly which wig Amber was talking about. If the thought of being Amber Sweet's twin wasn't disturbing enough, the wig Amber wearing was the exact one she wore to the Zydrate addicts support meeting before the Opera. The one the Graverobber took her to. With the memory of how provocative and irritable Amber was acting that night burned in her mind, Shilo shuddered.  
  
———————————————————————————————

The two girls seated themselves at a large dining table in an even larger dining room. Dinner had not been served just yet, as the other two Largo kids had yet to arrive either. Shilo twiddled her thumbs under the table nervously. The room was dead silent, but that could change at any given moment now. Anything she could ask or tell Amber about that she didn't want the brothers hearing, now was the time to speak.  
  
"Hey, uh, do your brothers even know I'm here?" she asked, glancing up at the older woman. Amber shook her head.  
  
"Probably not," she picked up a glass full of wine and took a sip from it. "It doesn't matter anyway. It's not like they have any say in whether you're welcome to stay here or not. I won't let them hurt you, I promise." She looked at the glass with a thoughtful expression before back to Shilo. "How old are you, again?"  
  
"Seventeen."  
  
"Ah, so you still got a couple years before you can drink. That sucks, you probably need one the most out of all of us after all that's happened." Amber took another drink and Shilo wrinkled her nose at the strong smell of the wine.  
  
"Um, no thanks." She paused, thinking of something to keep the conversation going. "How old are you?"  
  
"Me?" Amber asked with a brow raised. "Twenty four." She then went back to drinking her wine without another word. Shilo scattered her mind for less basic topics to discuss. There was one she really wanted to get out of the way.  
  
"How do you... uh... feel about your dad? If you don't mind me asking..." Hoping nothing ugly would come out of going into such sensitive territory, she bit her lip in nervous anticipation.  
  
Amber thought for a moment and settled her glass down on the table. "Well, I'm not entirely _happy_ that he's dead per se. Like I said, he _was_ my father, he had to put up with me and my brothers' bullshit over the years. He would show some sort of care at least once in a blue moon. I don't know where my mother went, but I haven't seen her since I was little. I do sort of wish I didn't have an ounce of sympathy for him, considering he disowned me moments before he died...." Amber began blinking fast, as if she was trying to hold back tears.  
  
She inhaled sharply and glared forward before saying sternly. "Let's... leave this topic for another time." Shilo nodded in agreement and gingerly glanced down. She felt it was best to hold any other questions until a better time.  
  
"What the fuck is this!?" A loud shout rang through the room, Amber and Shilo turned around in their seats to see Luigi standing in the doorway of the dining hall with Pavi right behind him. He pointed directly at Shilo. "What the _hell_ is she doing here?" Shilo ducked behind the back of her seat.  
  
"Mind your own business, won't you, Luigi!? She's going to be our house guest for a while." Amber retorted, resting a hand on Shilo's shoulder. The younger girl looked at her with fearful, teary eyes. "And neither of you will even _think_ about harming her. Understood?"  
  
"Don't make the Queen of Hearts to chop off your head, brother~." Pavi said half mockingly to his brother as he makes his way to his seat across from the girls. Luigi rolled his eyes and made his own way to his seat slowly. He glared at Shilo from across the table, causing her to slump in her seat. He shifted his cold glare to his sister.  
  
"Okay, _your highness_ , just because you've taken Pop's place in the company doesn't mean you have full control over everything else. What makes you think you can bring whoever the hell you want into our house?" His fingers hovered over a steak knife in his silverware lineup.  
  
"Like-a the graverobb–?" Pavi lets out a effeminate yelp as he was cut off by Luigi stabbing the knife into the mahogany table and his furious eye staring directly at the younger brother in warning. This caused Shilo to flinch even further away from the table.  
  
Amber calmly answered. "After the damage our family has brought to hers, I think it's only fair that we give her a bit of... compensation, if you will." Shilo lifted her head at Amber with a faint smile, which Amber returned with a bigger smile.  
  
"But doesn't she have a goddamn family of her own!?" Luigi snapped, pulling the tip of the knife out of the table. He kept the handle firmly in his hand with the tip pointing upwards, Shilo cowered a bit more when Luigi pointed the tip towards her.  
  
"First, Pop offers her all of GeneCo when she doesn't even share a drop of our blood. And now we're letting her stay under our roof!? This is so goddamn ridiculous! What makes her so fucking special!?" Shilo stared downwards in shame while Amber doesn't even blink.  
  
"Our father _murdered_ her family. She's not at fault, she was simply dragged into a petty family feud," Amber's tone became a bit more stern. "And this isn't up to you. I don't think you got the memo just yet, but things are going to be changing around here. Including you two." The Largo boys both glared at their sister.  
  
"....What the fuck do you mean–!?"  
  
"You'll see what I mean," Amber brought the wine glass to her lips again. She looked back down at Shilo slouching. "Now, you, sit up." Shilo straightened her back obediently, avoiding any and all eye contact with the Largo boys.  
  
Shortly after dinner was finally served. With the feeling of cold glares making her skin crawl, she didn't dare to look up to meet them. She would notice, however, how Luigi would roughly cut his steak with the knife, possibly using the steak to imagine himself cutting her up in anger. Whenever Pavi stared at her, Shilo wondered if he was pondering whether he should slice off her face for himself to wear. Otherwise, nobody spoke a single word. When they were finished with their meals, the Largo boys left the dining hall without causing any more trouble. However, Shilo's blood ran cold when she realized that Luigi's steak knife was missing.  
  
"I forgot to tell you," Shilo faced Amber after she broke the dead silence. "There will be a memorial service for Mag in a couple days. It's to honor her as the fallen voice of GeneCo. My brothers won't be coming, but I think you should come with me, since you technically are her family." Shilo felt her heart get heavy all over again, but she fought back her tears.  
  
She simply nodded. "Of course. I think she'd want that." She paused. "How about my father? Can we hold a funeral for him, too? But more private?"  
  
Amber thought for a moment before giving Shilo a smile. "I think we can work something out."


	3. Chapter 3

Since the events of the Genetic Opera, the inhabitants of Sanitarium Island lived collectively in grief. It was still difficult to accept their beloved voice of GeneCo had died along with GeneCo's infamous tycoon. Rotti being viewed as an evil corporate monster wasn't a total unpopular opinion of the masses. Neither was Amber being viewed as an irresponsible drug addict who used sex to get what she wants.

The whole city was skeptical about the Largo daughter taking over the company. After seeing what her father had done to not only Shilo's family, but the whole world, she was determined to fix it. There was no way her brothers could accomplish such a deed, as Luigi was too stubborn and had too violent of a temper while Pavi was too focused on himself and screwing as many women as he could.

As time marched further into the December month, the weather became bleaker. The large moon was blocked by the thick, dark grey clouds and the temperature gave the wind a sharp chill. On the ground was miles of a blanket of snow that measured to a half an inch, except for the roads which were covered with a layer of ice. The dark and cold weather let off an atmosphere most perfect for a memorial service.

Inside of a church by the graveyard, the new head of GeneCo stood at a podium in the front. Behind her was a display of flowers and photos of Blind Mag. A casket where Mag's corpse was being held stood a few feet away from her. Mag didn't have any other alive family that anybody was aware of, as most of the pews in the church had fans of the late Voice of GeneCo seated, some of them were the paparazzi taking photos of Amber speaking. The muffled chanting of protesting Anti-GeneCo activists could be heard from the inside of the church, the other sounds being Amber talking and the sobbing of a few of the funeral attendants.

The front pew was the most vacant, as it was solely for Shilo and Amber. Henchwomen were lined up in a row, with their locked guns tucked in their arms in case anything happened. One sat on one side of Shilo on the pew and another sat at the other edge. The seventeen-year-old kept her sorrowful gaze upon a bouquet she held in her hands as she listened to Amber's speech.

"On the behalf of the Largo family," Amber spoke. "I give my most sincere apologies to each and every individual for the grief GeneCo has brought upon all of you. Whether if you were a victim of GeneCo's cruel practices or lost a loved one from them." She glanced over at Shilo, who doesn't meet any contact with the Largo. She paid her attention back to the crowd. "I want to apologize, most of all, to our dear late Voice of GeneCo, Magdalene Delores Defoe. For all she had to go through. She will be sorely missed by her loved ones, including friends, fans, and family. She was a graceful soul and had the voice of an angel, and now she's singing with the angels. May she rest in peace."

Amber joined Shilo on the pew after she concludes her speech to let the pastor continue to perform the ceremony. Despite what she had said, it was only her in the Largo family that had any remorse for the damage that the Largos have caused. Luigi and Pavi were prohibited from attending the memorial service, as if that was in their interest anyway. It was now up to her to correct the wrongdoings her family have caused, along with the burden of ridding herself of her addictions.

In the graveyard, a statue of Mag was uncovered. It was of her performing her final song, the moment right before she gouged her eyes out. A smile plastered the statue's face, even though it was a plastic smile compared to the real Mag had right before her death. In front of it laid a small plaque that read IN LOVING MEMORY OF MAGDALENE "BLIND MAG" D DEFOE, THE VOICE OF GENECO, MAY HER SOUL REST IN PEACE. The funeral attendants, including Amber and Shilo, held a candle vigil for the singer. Shilo tried her absolute hardest to not cry, wiping her watery eyes with the coat she was wearing, given to her by Amber. Many of the attendees loved Mag, but they were simply their fans. Shilo was not only a fan, but Mag's family.

Amber allowed Shilo to place something on the grave, and she laid down half of her dozen roses right next to the plaque. She stood back up and gazed upon the life-size statue, wondering how something so awful could happen to someone so innocent. With her bottom lip quivering, she mouthed to the statue I love you, as if it was the actual Mag smiling down at her.

With the nighttime growing colder by the minute, most of the attendees have left the graveyard for the night. When Shilo and Amber were the only ones who remained, the Largo took Shilo over to the other side of the graveyard. They stop in front of a tombstone covered in snow, and Amber used her gloved hand to wipe it off. The tombstone read HERE LIES NATHAN EDWARD WALLACE, 2016-2056, LOVING HUSBAND AND FATHER.

"Can I be alone?" Shilo asked, her voice monotone. Without a word, Amber walked away to give the deceased's daughter some space. When Amber's snowy footprints sounded far enough away, Shilo stopped holding herself back, she sniffed as tears leaked from her eyes before she started sobbing hysterically. Buckets of hot tears fell from her eyes as she dropped to the ground, gripping the remaining roses in her hand tightly. Mixed in with her sobs were remorseful apologies and pleas for him, and Mag, to not leave her.

Amber listened to all of it from her spot. She didn't do as much damage as her father did, yet she still bore a tremendous amount of blame as if she did. Either way, Shilo was her responsibility now. The poor girl had nobody else to turn to and no real-world experience of her own. Shilo refused to even step foot into her own home to collect her belongings and Amber had to hire a moving team to move out her and her family's belongings. Some of Shilo's possessions, such as her bug collection and her clothes, were now in her bedroom, and everything else was kept in a secure storage unit in the Largo mansion. The remainder of Shilo's old medicine was disposed of, and Shilo had been under medical supervision. Fortunately, according to a few blood tests she had to have done, it looks like the poison was slowly disappearing from her blood stream and wasn't fatally harmful. She already had to deal with a few of the inevitable fainting episodes while she was at large after the Opera, but she hadn't had any ever since.

One issue Amber had been trying to figure out was how to effectively comfort her. Amber herself never had much emotional support growing up, other than material gifts from her father, as she didn't want to be like him at all and she already gave the girl so much already. She had tried to stay away from that method, but giving support was just a bit new to her. Shilo would always be awkwardly stiff whenever Amber tried to hug her. When Amber tried to give her emotional support, Shilo would barely make any eye contact. If Amber couldn't figure it out, she was going to have to place Shilo into therapy which was probably the best option anyhow.

A few minutes have past, Shilo's crying had calmed, and Amber turned to face Shilo as she heard crunching in the snow approaching her. Amber gave her a sympathetic smile but the young girl still refused to make eye contact.

"Ready to head back?" Amber asked. Shilo nodded without a word and the Largo lead her to the limo. Both girls were shivering cold by the time they reached and entered the vehicle. They were quiet for the ride home. It was almost two a.m. and they were both tired.

"Goodnight, Shilo!" Amber called as Shilo the door of her own room, but Shilo didn't say anything back as she entered her room.

Exhausted, she flopped onto her bed without taking off her coat or shoes. Her eyes burned and her head ached, but she was too tired to do anything about it. Before she knew it, she drifted off to sleep.

Flashes. All Shilo could make out were flashes. Some of them were memories, some of them weren't, but they all felt vividly real. One real memory was followed by a fabricated one. She's had nightmares like any other person, but these were something else.

First, there was seeing Mag dead and impaled by the sharp fence on the Genetic Opera stage. Then Shilo's father in his Repoman gear, gouging out the corpse's eyes with an evil laugh. Shilo is then in the interrogation room where she had found out her father was really a Repoman. He hit her in her face, similar to earlier that evening, and scolding her for leaving the house. Rotti announced to the Opera audience that Nathan was poisoning Shilo and that Nathan accidentally murdered Marni. Nathan then shouted to Shilo that Marni would be alive if it wasn't for her.

This was followed by a weakened Nathan being shot by Rotti and Shilo frantically trying to unstrap her father from the wheelchair. She felt a sharp pain in her back and was flung to the ground, soaking her body even more in the metallic smelling blood. The angry face of the attacker looks at her with pure hate. Rotti Largo pointed the gun directly at Shilo's face, right in between her eyes. Shilo raised up her hand at him and begged for mercy. Nathan, still in the wheelchair, weakly shouted at Rotti to get away from his daughter and threatened to kill him. With a sinister smile, he pulled the trigger and everything went black.

In a cold sweat, Shilo propped herself up with her hands on her bed. She rips off the heavy coat and wiped off her sweaty face with her hands. It took her about a minute to fully wake up and realize she was back to reality. With the realization of what was real and what wasn't, she gave off a sigh of relief. The clock next to her bed read 2:43 am. She had no desire to fall back to sleep after... that. She looked out the window to see no snow falling from the sky, put her coat back on, and snuck out the front door into the winter night. She used a special key card Amber gave her to unlock the front gate.

Shilo had never really been outside on her own, but she figured she could just follow her footprints back to the mansion. It's not like it was too hard to find anyway with its tall gate with the GeneCo logo on the front, especially since it's decorated with Christmas lights to illuminate it. Hopefully, it wasn't going to start snowing again, but Shilo just needed some time all alone.

A cold breeze blew on her that sent a shiver down her spine. She tied her scarf around the lower half of her face and pulled down her hat to cover her forehead, so only her eyes were visible. Her gloved hands were stuffed in her pocket and she raised her shoulders to her cheeks. Besides the chilly air, the night was rather beautiful. The holidays were approaching, and this would be her first time celebrating Christmas without her father. Celebrating it with the Largos sounded like a nightmare, no less.  
Amber did mention a yearly party on Christmas day, which was an event for the many workers of GeneCo along with Rotti's corporate peers. This year, however, Amber had invited representatives of a few different charities to attend the party as well. More likely than not, Shilo was going to skip out on the festivities this year. The thought was just too painful.

One thing that could possibly lift Shilo's spirits was that this was her first time going out to see town decorated for the holidays, albeit being late in the night. As she walked down the sidewalk, she took note of all the different kinds of buildings and establishments. She took in the beauty of the decorations and the blankets of snow on the side of the road. She enjoyed hearing her snow boots crunch into the snow as she walked. Only if the weather was a bit warmer, so she had more time to enjoy being outside than she had.

Suddenly, Shilo found her mouth covered by a large hand and her arms restrained by an arm around her torso. She was pulled into an alleyway and thrown against a wall. Wincing in pain, she was held against the wall with the two large hands. She screamed out before the attacker slamed her against the wall again.

"Shut up, you bitch!" The voice hissed, Shilo flinched at her attacker's reeking breath. "Do you have any dough!?"

Shilo shook her head no.

"Fucking liar! I can tell by your clothes. Give me all you got!"

"I don't have anything, I swear!" Shilo cried out. The attacker put his knee up to Shilo's stomach to keep her from getting away.

"Well, then," he said with a smirk. "Looks like you're going to have to pay." He started to pull at Shilo's coat. She kicked and screams as she tries to wriggle away from her attacker, but it was getting more difficult as the stinging cold air made it hard to breathe. It became more difficult when he placed one of his hands around her throat and she began to feel light headed.

A trashcan lid then struck the attacker's head. The weight on her quickly disappeared as someone pulled the man off her and she fell to the ground. Her savior threw the man into a nearby trashcan, and the imbecile fell over with it. Still on the ground, the attacker is met with a couple punches and a kick to the face. He fumbled on the icy ground as he scrambles to get away.

"Yeah, you better run away, mother fucker!"

The voice of her savior suddenly rang a bell in Shilo's head. As she regained her sight, she fully recognized the one who had saved her. His colored hair and tall figure confirmed he was who she was thinking of.

"Graverobber?" She said, the Zydrate peddler finally glanced at the girl he had saved. She pulled down her scarf and takes off her hat to reveal herself, he smiles.

"Kid!?" he said delightedly. He approached her and assisted her up, she nearly slipped on the icy ground but he caught her. "What are you doing out here so late?"

"I was just getting some air," she explained as she fumbled back up. Graverobber smirked.

"Really, now?" he replied, his tone snarky. "Are you sure you weren't looking to freeze your ass off?"

Shilo scoffed in annoyance. "Look, I had a rough day. If you're just going to be a smart ass to me, I'm just going to leave." Without giving a chance for him to reply, she walked past him.

"What? No 'thank you' for saving your life?" Graverobber called to her. Shilo rolled her eyes and said nothing in reply, pulling her scarf back up. What he said next caused Shilo to stop in her tracks.

"Hey, your name is Shilo, right? You're the Genetic Opera girl?"

She turned around to face him, pulling the scarf back down. "Yeah, what of it?"

"Well," he said as he leaned against a wall. "You're just all over the news. I wasn't there myself but from what I heard, it was completely fucked up. I always knew Rotti Largo was an evil mother fucker but–."

He stopped when he noticed Shilo's head drooping and she raised her hands to her eyes. She wasn't sobbing, but was more silently weeping. Graverobber watched her cry with pity.

"Hey, look kid, I'm sorry about what happened–." He stopped when Shilo rushed towards him and wrapped her hands around him. He held her head with one hand, and resting his own head on hers, and held her close with his other as she sobbed into his chest.

Shilo's crying calmed down a little and Graverobber brought her over to a dumpster. They sat on top of it as she explained the whole story to him. His eyes kept widening as he began to realize the situation was much more fucked up than he originally thought.

"They never did say what happened to you after you were found. What have you been doing?" The whole time, he had his arm wrapped around her and lightly brushed her shoulder and upper arm with his index finger. It was surprising how this drug dealer was doing a better job at comforting Shilo than the woman that took her in.

"I've been living with the Largos," she explained. "I don't plan on staying there for long. Just until I'm old enough to go out on my own and I have a plan.

"Oh Jesus," Graverobber sighed. "Just when I thought I couldn't feel more sorry for you. I can't imagine living with those people. Amber's a pain in the ass to deal with sometimes, and I'm honestly surprised her brothers haven't killed you yet."

Shilo rested her head against the Graverobber's chest. It smelled gross, but it was at least warm. "Me neither. But Amber's been treating me okay, surprisingly."

Another cold breeze brushed Shilo and she huddled against the graverobber for warmth. She rested her head under his, and winced when she felt the skin on his neck and chest were freezing.

"By the way," Shilo lifted her head. "How come you're out here in the cold? Don't you have a home?"

Graverobber sighed. "Eh, not really. I was heading to the local homeless shelter when I saw you getting jumped. I've been able to tolerate the cold for the past few days but now it's as cold as an abominable snowman's asscrack." Shilo couldn't help but smile at that comment. She lifted her head up off his chest and jumped off the dumpster.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again," she said. "But I should be heading back." She felt a bit guilty because she didn't want to leave him all alone in the cold, but as he said, he was going somewhere warm for the night. Perhaps he would handle himself.

"You know what? I like you, kid." Graverobber smiled. "We should hang more often. ...Except maybe we should do something less depressing."

"Sure," Shilo smiled a bit and nodded. "I'll see you again when I can."

Graverobber hopped down from the dumpster. "How 'bout I walk you back? We don't need you getting attacked again."

The two walked out of the alleyway together and turn onto the sidewalk. Shilo kept track of her surroundings to remember where exactly to meet Graverobber. There was a mailbox, a bakery, a restaurant, and a corner store with a sign that had a picture of taquitos on it near the exact alleyway. As they made their way back to the mansion, Shilo couldn't help but wonder. Why was this graverobber being so friendly towards her? He nearly got them both killed at the graveyard when he decided to pull a stunt. Even so, he seemed to like her when they reunited after that incident. He even helped her home after they met up again at the Renaissance fair. If he wanted something he probably would've made it clear already, considering he probably never expected to see her again. The two finally reach the gate.

"Here you are," Graverobber said. "Get yourself some sleep, kid."

"Thank you for walking me back," Shilo said. "And you should get yourself to that shelter."

Graverobber chuckled. "Will do. Until next time." He waved and went on his way. Shilo watched him walk away. The feeling that she had finally made a friend cheered her up a little. Shilo let herself into the property and carefully snuck into her bedroom. She changed into her nightgown and crawled into her warm bed before clicking off her lamp.


	4. Chapter 4

Ever since Amber brought first brought her to the Largo mansion to stay, Shilo had been staying in her room except when she needed to eat or use the restroom. Not much had changed for Shilo in a sense, except she was choosing to isolate herself this time. She was just as bored and lonely as before topped with her grief from recent events.

However, one could argue she had good reasons to keep herself locked inside her room. Every time she made eye contact with Luigi Largo, whether during mealtimes or in the mansion hallways, he always shot her a nasty death glare. In fact, he became so tired of looking at Shilo, the girl who nearly received the inheritance he wanted despite not sharing blood, he began to pick up his plate from the dining table and take his meal to eat in his bedroom.

Pavi was a different story. Even though his face mask allowed him to move his face muscles very little to form expressions, Shilo found an eerie shiver go down her spine each time he looked at her. She couldn't figure out what it was, but he had a suspicious glint in his green eyes. Given his reputation of being a touchy-feely womanizer, Shilo knew it was best to steer clear from him as well.

One night at dinner, Luigi opted to eat in his bedroom once again while Pavi, Amber, and Shilo ate at the large dining table silently. Eventually, Pavi finished eating and left the table without a word before one of the maids cleaned up his now empty plate. The only noise Shilo made all supper was a few sighs while she poked at her food with her fork in the awkward silence. Amber glanced at the younger girl as she sipped on her red wine.

"So... Shilo," she began, receiving an uninterested glance from Shilo. "What have you been up to?"

Shilo simply shrugged and her eyes went back down to her plate. Amber found that she had been growing more distant and silent since she first brought her to the mansion. The Largo had been used to attention from different people to her whole life, and the thought of Shilo growing up mostly alone and friendless was depressing to her.

"Anything interesting on TV lately?" Amber asked awkwardly, only to receive a half-hearted shake of Shilo's head in return. The Largo huffed, her patience admittedly growing thinner by the moment. As bad as she felt for the younger girl, she figured Shilo would've been much more enthusiastic with someone—the one who's showed her the most hospitality no less-- trying to be friendly with her.

"Is there anything you want? Anywhere you want to? I can give you anything you want if it'll make you cheer up. Jewelry, gadgets, makeover your bedroom, the latest cosmetic surger--." The Largo stopped and she could see Shilo side eye her from her seat, clearly a uninterested and possibly a little disgusted by the last suggestion. Addictions are difficult to kick, and Amber sometimes forgot she was supposed to be distancing herself from surgeries and Zydrate. She found herself having hot flashes due to the withdrawal effects of the Zydrate, and she had to stop herself from having her face changed once more when she found out the media was gossiping how terrible her latest face lift was. She could feel a small sense of pride of being in control of herself as her last surgery was right after the Genetic Opera, when she needed to literally replace her face when the previous one fell off during her performance.

"What I mean is," the Largo cleared her throat. "If there's anything you want, anything at all, you can have it. You won't even have to wait for Christmas."

Shilo's gaze remained on her partially touched food. "Okay," she simply replied.

However, Amber had already given Shilo a new designer wardrobe to her taste, an upgraded television set, a new digital console piano, all the rare Blind Mag vinyls, DVDs and CDs she could dream of, and she even promised to give Shilo the fanciest purebred kitten she could find, despite Shilo insisting she'd be fine with any kind of kitten. It wasn't that Shilo wasn't appreciative of the gesture, but she found it difficult to accept such expensive gifts. Most of the gifts sit in her room untouched, since Shilo spent most of her time in bed, either sulking or sleeping.

Amber sighed and went back to her own food. "I'm sorry I can't do much for you, kid. But I'm trying to be your friend and it'd be nice if you'd give me the time of day." Shilo just sat there without a response. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Amber got up and left Shilo alone at the table, giving up. The tapping sounds of her high heels stopped at the archway leading out of the dining hall as if Amber wanted to say something more, but she only continued her way out of the dining room. Shilo simply lowered her eyes into her lap as the maid cleaned up the rest of the dishes.

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Shilo trucked through the town in the crunchy snow to find the alleyway Graverobber usually occupied. Every other night since she arrived, she'd sneak out of the Largo mansion to find and hang out with him. He'd be in this particular alleyway, sitting on top of a dumpster cleaning his Zydrate gun or tools, or sometimes he'd be out making sales to junkies. Shilo preferred steering clear of them, so she'd rather wait in the alleyway until he returned, which usually wasn't very long.

This time, she found him there making a sale to a junkie. Upon spotting her, his sultry smirk softened to a friendly smile and he held up a finger towards her as a gesture for her to wait. He handed the junkie a vial of the Zydrate after she gave him the pay before pocketing it and strutting off. Graverobber hopped down from the dumpster as Shilo approached him and reached out to pull her into a tight hug.

"You must be so cold from walking all the way out here!" He grunted as he crushed Shilo. "Why don't we get some coffee or something?"

"Sounds good!" Shilo smiled before her stomach growled.

Graverobber smirked. "We can go grab a bite to eat, too. There's a diner nearby, if you want to go. My treat."

Shilo pulled back and chuckled. "Oh no, you don't have to do that." Except Graverobber already had her by the hand, leading the way.

"Oh, but I want to. I'm quite starved myself. Besides, I just got paid." He patted his pocket full of money earned from his "business". "And Christmas is almost here, the season of giving and all that shit."

Upon entering the diner, the waitress sat them down, brought them their drinks and took their orders.

"So how are the Largos treating you?" Graverobber asked, taking a sip of his drink. Shilo hesitated a bit before answering.

"I think I upset Amber at dinner tonight," Shilo fiddled with the straw wrapper as she spoke. "It's bad enough Luigi and Pavi make me feel unwelcome, I just hope Amber doesn't want to kick me out now."  
Graverobber rolled his eyes. "I hate to say it, kid, but I'm not too surprised. The Largos are all a bunch of prissy assholes, it doesn't take much to piss them off if you don't meet their expectations or bend to their will."  
"Well..." Shilo continued. "I think Amber's trying to be nice, but she seems to think giving me a bunch of expensive presents will make me feel better. But presents won't bring back my dad or Mag. Or make me forget what happened that night." She sat back in her seat. "I just... wish she could give me more space."

The waitress finally arrived with their food and Graverobber took a fry from his plate. "The problem is," he said before he took a bit out of it. "The Largos are all used to their daddy showering them with expensive gifts to comfort them or apologize for something. Trust me, I know just how spoiled Amber is and how much she's more than used to getting what she wants when she wants it. Including attention." Shilo glanced down at the table in thought as her friend continued to chow down.

"Should I... tell her that I don't need all these gifts?" She asked before taking a bite out of her own food.

He shrugged in reply. "That's up to you, kid. I can't guarantee it'll end smoothly, but if you need a place to crash --and I know it isn't much--- but you're always welcome to stay with me. Can you hand me the ketchup?" Shilo pushed the bottle of ketchup over to him and he squirted some next to his fries.

"I'm curious," Shilo tilted her head. "Did you and Amber ever... you know... _date?_ "

"What!?" Graverobber's head shot up in surprise, his mouth full of food. He gulped down the food in his mouth. He shook his head. "No. Amber and I used to have a fling as drug dealer and junkie. But no, we never dated. I can't stand the woman and it's safe to say she can't stand me or my bullshit either. I learned the hard way to never date Zydrate whores as a dealer. I did before a few years back, and it was nothing but a shit ton of problems. Turns out she only wanted me for the drug."

Shilo looked outside to see it had started to snow again. "Christmas is coming up soon. ...Do you want me to get you something?"

Graverobber's expression was just as surprised as before. "What!? Me? You don't need to get anything for me. Give something to someone who deserves it. Someone more worthwhile."

"Like who?" Shilo asked. "You're pretty much my only friend at this point. And you barely have anything..."

"Don't you worry about me, sweetheart. Why don't we see what's on the dessert menu?"

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The first thing Shilo did when she made it back to the Largo mansion was sat down at the desk in her room and took out a sheet of paper and a pencil. She wasn't sure how she could verbally explain to Amber about her feelings regarding the matter between them, so she decided to write her a letter. It was a way she communicated with her father whenever she needed to tell him something whenever he came home in the wee hours of the morning.

Soon enough, she had a letter that she was sure made her point nice and clear. She carefully made her way through the halls of the mansion to Amber's room and gently slid the folded-up letter under the door before making her way back to her bedroom. Shilo could only hope she wasn't going to wake up to a knife at her throat in the morning.


End file.
